View my complete profileMy name is Diane Shepard Johnson and my daughter Sarah and I have always loved old fashioned things. We find Tasha Tudor and Beatrix Potter so inspiring. Some of our favorite things and interests are: spinning, weaving, natural dyeing of fiber and yarn, knitting, bobbin lace making, vegetable, herb and flower gardening, old fashioned clothing and frocks, dolls, the old ways of preparing food, canning, corgyn, bunnies, goats, birds, photography, writing, drawing and painting, the old ways of living and old fashioned tasks.The Corgyncombe Courant is our newspaper of some of the highlights of life at Corgyncombe Cottage. Courant is an old term for newspaper.

August 1, 2012

Beatrix Potter Birthday Celebration!

In Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of The Pie and The Patty-Pan", Ribby, with a pitcher of milk and a plate of butter, is returning from the farm on a path crossing the pasture where the cows are grazing.

The chosen music to accompany this post is Perfect Day:Click Here for Specially Chosen Musical Entertainments.Return Here to Read the Corgyncombe Courant.The music is so delightful whilst reading!"Perfect Day" was used as the theme song of"The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends, Beatrix Potter".

The cows at pasture with the lovely hillside landscape in the background.

Little Emma has brought her chair out into the garden and is showing the Little Dear One "The Tale of The Pie and The Patty-Pan" written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter.Emma was made by talented dollmaker Margaret Flavin.Beatrix Potter's stories have delighted children for years with their lovely illustrations and charming tales.

The book is open to Beatrix Potter's illustration of Ribby the Cat, with a pitcher of milk and a plate of butter, returning from the farm on a path crossing the pasture where the cows are grazing.As Emma and the Little Dear One were admiring this picture, an unknown cat was seen running through the field. Little Dear One said "That Kitty is not dressed as nicely as Ribby with her lovely frock and shawl." Emma said "That is not as 'genteel' a Kitty as Ribby." Emma remembers that in "The Tale of The Pie and The Patty-Pan" Ribby says that Duchess is "a most genteel and elegant little dog."

Beatrix Potter's Birthday Tea was held on her birthday, July 28th, near the mossy log down by the creek!Diane and her daughter Sarah are admirers of Beatrix Potter and feel a kinship with her. The Johnsons enjoyed teas, elevenishes and delightful conversations with Tasha Tudor. What fun it would have been to have had Beatrix Potter with us also... what we all together could have talked about... bunnies, gardens, ducks, old houses, old barns, and other aspects of country life and landscapes.

At the Corgyncombe Corg'ery, Lydia Corgi is the smallest of the Corgyn.Our nickname for her is Bitty.Lydia might be the smallest but she is the one with the biggest appetite!Here she is hoping to receive a butter treat!Lydia reminds us of the dog Duchess in Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of The Pie and The Patty-Pan".Duchess was known for gulping down her food in a hasty manner, as does Lydia!One day I bent down to pick up Bitty Liddy and as I picked her up she groaned as if she was quite uncomfortable. I said "Oh my, Bitty Liddy is stuffed full without room to spare!" Upon inspection of the food cupboard, the door was found open and it was clear that Bitty had indulged until she could indulge no more! Bitty's food was kept to a modest ration for the next few days with many necessary outings during her recovery!In Beatrix Potter's illustrations Ducheses' many expressions remind us of Bitty Liddy!

A Wren family has a nest house in the apple tree next to the mossy log.

A tussie mussie was made using larkspur, lavender, thyme, winter savory, rosemary, wild marjoram, rose geranium leaves, and baby's breath all gathered from the Corgyncombe Garden of Herbs.The little mouse knitting is based upon Beatrix Potter's illustration of the "Old woman who lived in a shoe" in "Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes". It is one of our favorite Beatrix Potter illustrations! The little knitting mouse's cap reminds us of the white cap that Bridget likes to wear. "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" book on the table is a limited edition reproduction of Beatrix Potter's first privately printed Peter Rabbit book and has the original illustrations with Beatrix's own handwriting. The dust jacket is a reproduction of calico printed by Beatrix's grandfather's calico printworks. It is such a sweet book!

Tillie Tinkham, the seamstress mouse at Corgyncombe, amongst the Johnny-jump-ups.Whilst in the garden Tillie and Sarah conferred about frocks and fashions and the dolls at Corgyncombe.

Lovely hills and dales add such character to the landscape.Ahhh, how we love the hills!As the hills were to Beatrix Potter and Tasha Tudor,the hills are a great inspiration toDiane and her daughter Sarah.

Sarah going out into the garden.

Beatrix Potter cookies with Jemima Puddle-duck and Peter Rabbit with his Mum who is buttoning his little jacket.The Beatrix Potter teapot shows Jeremy Fisher the frog fishing on a lily pad.Alongside are figurines of Jemima Puddle-duck and Peter Rabbit.

The Beatrix Potter Hill Top blog said that Beatrix Potter always gathered a pink water lily and a white lily and brought them into the house to enjoy on her birthday.Beatrix Potter illustrated beautiful water lilies in her book "The Tale of Tale of Jeremy Fisher".

The lovely and delicate pink Herb Robert.

A Rabbit amongst the Corgyncombe clover.

One thinks of Peter Rabbit hiding in the watering can...

In "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", Beatrix Potter illustrates Peter as he spies, and decides to avoid, a cat watching gold-fish swimming in a pond in Mr. McGregor's garden.The Johnsons used to have huge goldfish in their pond. When they fed them the water would just boil with goldfish excitement. The goldfish in the front with the red circle on her head was named Lucy. Inspired by Beatrix Potter we have added a photograph of our kitten as if he is peeking into the pond of goldfish delights. Alas, the Johnsons think their goldfish became the meals of a hungry blue heron as they disappeared one by one. Our kitten has also been drawn by Tasha Tudor several times and appears on the cover of "The Real Pretend" in this pose and another pose as an older kitten.

At Corgyncombe there are lovely wild Columbines that come in white, pink, and purple-blue.

Humbelina the Hummingbird enjoys the peacefulness of Diane's garden.

She tells Diane of the places she has been and what she has seen.

The old shepherd who had the flock of sheep in the above photograph lived to be 98 and for years kept sheep on the hillside a ways down the road from Diane's family cemetery. The old shepherd was related to Diane through an old family line. The trees in the hillside beyond the pasture show lovely shades of violet, pink, and green.Beatrix Potter loved sheep and raised Herdwick sheep, a different breed from the sheep pictured above.

Diane's Garden of Herbs.

From the Corgyncombe Vegetable Garden, radishes gathered in a trug with some fresh cut spearmint on the red and white spotted handkerchief.In Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", after eating lettuce and french beans, Peter Rabbit found some radishes and ate til he felt quite ill!

The red and white spotted handkerchief reminds Diane of Peter Rabbit's mum's red and white spotted handkerchief that was used by the little naughty bunnies, Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny, to gather onions in Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Benjamin Bunny". The handkerchief is also seen in "The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle" as it has been laundered and folded by Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, who, alas, could not get the smell of onions out. Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle then delivered the handkerchief to the bunnies who were hiding amongst the ferns along the way and gladly received the laundered handkerchief.

Hush, is that Peter Rabbit at garden's edge?

Cabbage in the Corgyncombe Vegetable Garden.Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit "lost one of his shoes among the cabbages".

Radishes from the Corgyncombe Vegetable Garden in a colander in the old grey stone sink.

A Swallowtail butterfly finding a nectar treat on the echinacea.The garden is so fragrant with the smell of the echinacea.

Butterflies in the garden remind the Corgyncombe Courant of Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Tom Kitten". As Mother Cat Tabitha was expecting company she had dressed her three kittens up in fine clothes. More preparations needed to be completed before her guests arrived so she let her kittens go out in the garden but warned them to be careful not to soil their clothing. There is an illustration of Tom Kitten dressed in a darling blue suit and straw hat amusing himself with a butterfly as it flits about the garden.

Pink foxgloves can be found in profusion as Jemima finds a nesting place at the home of the "foxy-whiskered gentleman" in Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Jemima Puddle-duck".In Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle" there are foxgloves at the stile that Lucie crosses.

The teapot is one of Diane's favorite and has Jemima Puddle-duck and, as Beatrix Potter said, the "foxy-whiskered gentleman" walking about discussing things of importance, such as nesting. The "foxy-whiskered gentleman" was all too interested! There are foxgloves on either side of the Jemima Puddle-duck and the "foxy-whiskered gentleman".

Cookies for tea.

As coincidence would have it, the same day we found our Beatrix Flopsy Bunny we also acquired a copy of Beatrix Potter's "The Story of A Fierce Bad Rabbit".Above, little Beatrix Flopsy Bunny looks at the cover of Beatrix Potter's, "The Story of A Fierce Bad Rabbit". On the cover is the "Fierce Bad Rabbit" with the hunter in the background.Corgyncombe Cottage acquired the sandstone sink in Connecticut where Diane and Sarah's ancestors, the Stanclift family, dwelt. In the above photograph Diane has a colander full of washed carrots from the Corgyncombe Vegetable Garden.Gravestone carving was a tradition in the Stanclift family. The stone of the gravestones and the Corgyncombe Butt'ry sink are the same reddish brown sandstone. The sink, which was from a very old house in the area the Stanclifts lived, could well have been made by one of the Stanclifts.Our Stanclift family came from England in the 1680s.

Beatrix Flopsy Bunny is closely examining the "nice gentle Rabbit's" carrot and gets a better look at the big nasty "Fierce Bad Rabbit" who is bounding up in the background to steal away the "nice gentle Rabbit's" carrot.

Bouquet of daisies, forget-me-nots, buttercups, and clover in the apothecary.

Columbine that grow wild at Corgyncombe.

Butterfly on echinacea.

Hens and Chicks at Corgyncombe.

Wren on a mossy log.Jenny Wren's damask tablecloth was cleaned by Mrs. Tiggywinkle the laundress in Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-winkle". Jenny Wren is illustrated by Beatrix as she receives her clean tablecloth from Mrs. Tiggy-winkle.Someone lives inside this mossy log at Corgyncombe but you will you have to wait til that tale is finished!In late afternoon, on Beatrix Potter's birthday, a thunder shower meant that the tea party had to come indoors. After a bit the sun came out and a lovely rainbow appeared!

Tillie Tinkham waves from the Corgyncombe Garden of Herbs.

Here is a link to: a sample book of calico printed at Beatrix Potter's grandfather's printworks.You can click through many pages of samples.Tillie Tinkham is considering establishing her own printworks as she loves calicos of pretty flowers!

2 comments:

Diane and Sarah, my girls!You have outdone yourselves, for this is the most exquisite presentation of all things Beatrix! How wonderful to peruse such a beautiful array of photos and tales, reminding me why I love visiting your courant...you never miss one detail. These have been such busy days here at Rose Water Cottage that I have failed miserably in visiting my dear friends on a regular basis. I must apologize, but am hoping to get back into a better routine. Everything seems to be happening all at once, which, I suppose is a good thing...so we must adapt:)Please know how often my thoughts are with all of you there at Corgyncombe Cottage and how I miss our "visits"...hoping all is well..

Dear Ladies, Every post you make is just too stunning for words. Jemima Puddleduck cookies, of course! Your herb garden is something to behold, along with the stone planter with hens and chicks, and the mossy covered log. You turn everything into a work of art. Even a humble bowl of carrots in a yelloware bowl becomes a thing of beauty. I have loved Beatrix for as long as I can remember and her books have had a huge influence on my own art. What a marvelous woman she was. I would love to sit with her and chat about sheep, fungi and watercolor. Dimity Doormouse hopes that Tillie will establish her own printworks, and states that she would be her best customer (as she insists on wearing the tiniest of calico designs on all her bonnets.) Fondly from the Hollow, Cousin Jeri